This invention relates to a method and apparatus for mounting components and more particularly to an improved method and apparatus for this purpose.
Various devices have been proposed for picking up small electronic components such as chips containing a circuit and mounting those components on a substrate such as a printed circuit board. Normally a vacuum type pick-up is employed for picking up the components to be mounted. Various devices have been proposed so as to recognize the component that is picked up and have its center aligned with the mounting nozzle and thus positioned appropriately on the substrate or circuit board.
However, many of these types of components have a surface that may be irregular in shape and if an attempt is made to mount these components, a portion of the component may not be fully in contact with the circuit board. Such types of chips having abnormal shapes are MELF, ceramic capacitors, aluminum electrolytic capacitors, fixed inductors of the chip type and semi-fixed volume chips. These types of devices have curved corners or may be tall and unstable. Thus, with these types of components it may not always be desirable to pick up the component at its center for assembly on to the board because of the aforenoted difficulties.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for mounting components on a substrate.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for mounting irregular shaped components on a substrate or board.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus which permits successful mounting of components on a circuit board even if those components have irregular shapes.